Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[mike.bmw]

The Vintage 2024 was EXCELLENT.

I put about 1,200 miles on my 318iS over the course of four days---a little less than previous years because I was having fun catching up with friends. The weather was supposed to be a wash out, but thankfully it barely rained the entire weekend! This is by far one of my favorite events of the year. Great people. Great cars. Great roads.

I did have one small hiccup. After the nearly 500-mile drive to Asheville, NC on Thursday, I spent some time Friday morning checking over the mechanicals while the engine was cool. Upon starting the engine, there was a massive gas leak from under the intake manifold, and it was flowing directly onto the starter!

I immediately shut it off and got my fire extinguisher in case there was a fire, which is mounted in front of the passenger seat. Having twice replaced the short fuel lines and associated clamps under the M42's intake manifold during my eight-year ownership, I assumed these were the culprit. (The first time was when I replaced everything under the intake manifold after purchasing the car, the second time was when I upgraded the injectors and figured while I had it all apart, I'd do it again.)

Unfortunately, I didn't bring the correct combination of flexible extensions to reach the hose clamps in Asheville. Fortunately, a man named Steve who was also in the parking lot looking over his E28 M5 did. It was good enough to tighten the loose clamps and drive my 318is to all the Vintage-related activities and back home.

When I got home I went back in to double check everything with better suited tools. Removing part of the intake and throttle body made for just enough access. All four clamps were loose. As of the last time I was in here 3.5 years and 12,000 miles ago, they're new OEM hose clamps and OEM fuel hose. Yet they loosened up? I'll keep an eye on it, but this really shouldn't have happened.

The caravan crew:

20240516-DSC_1129 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

The Clarion Inn parking lot is always a great time:

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A visit to BMW Zentrum with Jim:

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Caravan to Hot Springs:

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The big show in Hot Springs, NC:

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We got a little rain, but the weather was mostly pleasant!

20240518-DSC_3205 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

An early morning on Sunday before heading home:

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[mike.bmw]

Despite the rain, last Sunday was an awesome day at the 40th Deutsche Marque Concours! I was grateful to take home second place in the Meister class (the class winners from last year's event), and just a point shy of Barry Bocaner's amazing first-place Z3 M Coupe!
Carter was a trooper and made it just until the end before needing to pull the rip cord and make an exit.

20240505-DSC_9971 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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[mike.bmw]

Two R3VLimited OGs, Lars and Paul, are making custom scale E30 "Moddables" now. I was excited to receive a 1:64 scale body-in-white prototype in the mail last week, complete with a number of custom touches to match my 1991 318is. It was also a fun photography opportunity to recreate some scale scenes with the real thing.

Lars explained, "We are both E30 owners like yourself, so the first Moddables we will release will be the E30 since it's a model that's special to us." They looked through my Instagram posts (apparently I post a lot of E30 content) and R3VLimited E30 project thread to dial in the updates I've made to my 318iS over the past eight years, and being knowledgeable car guys they were able to spot my customizations quite easily.

The model includes exterior details like the "is" front valance, the glass sunroof, and my BMW CCA and BMW Classic CCA grill badges. A cutaway model showcases interior details like the Momo Prototipo steering wheel and rear headrests. The package also included sample graphics with 318iS-specific drawings of the vehicle body, sports seats, BBS RS001 wheels, a Momo Prototipo steering wheel, and M42 engine.

Thanks Lars and Paul!

LegoModdables by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20240504-DSC_9943 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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20240501-20240501-DSC_9319-2-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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[mike.bmw]

I finally got these two together for some photos (second time in ~18 months).

20240417-DSC_7249 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20240417-DSC_7364-3 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20240417-DSC_7400 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[iXBeater]

Those look great!!

Getting ready to order a wool set for my E30 as well (which is what I have in my E24). I'm debating the contrast approach vs. just-black - this is helpful for that too :)

[mike.bmw]

After a positive experience ordering Coco Mats for my 1998 M3, I realized my 1991 318is needed some love. For over eight years, I've had floor mats that matched the seats, door cards, and carpet, and I've been drowning in a sea of tan/natur.

I wanted to add some contrast to the interior, so I ordered a set of front and rear "Classic" Coco Mats in Black/Taupe. Taupe is a close match to the vinyl and carpet, while the black goes well with plastic trim and the dash.

The interior is now totally transformed! Why didn't I do this years ago?!? I really can't express how happy I am with how this turned out.

The ordering process was great, just like last time. They sent me a couple of samples in the mail and followed up to see which I liked better. After finalizing my order, within two weeks the mats were made and delivered. The E30 didn't need pattern/fitment verification as they've done enough of these to ensure a perfect fit.

And with that, my prep for the Vintage is complete! Well, I still need to recover the driver's seat as the bolster is cracking. 😂

20240328-DSC_3566 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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[mike.bmw]

There's not going to be a Cherry Blossom Run this year, but that didn't mean I couldn't take a Friday afternoon to enjoy a drive into Washington DC in my E30.

20240315-DSC_1785 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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And for those following my E36 M3 thread... Yes, I went into Washington DC twice, a couple days apart, to enjoy the Cherry Blossom trees and take photos. :-)

[mike.bmw]

My 1991 318is was due for a brake fluid flush, so yesterday I knocked that out. That makes two days in a row as I had bled the brakes on my 1998 M3 with fresh fluid the day before.

No hiccups with the 318is. I had replaced the brake lines a few years ago. Motul 5.1 fluid.

After that was done, I thoroughly cleaned the interiors on all three cars. The F31 really needed it!

20240229-PXL_20240229_162308886 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20240229-PXL_20240229_162921954 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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20240229-PXL_20240229_204615725 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[iXBeater]

Wow - fantastic on all counts!

I'm getting ready to take a big trip bringing my E30 back to North Carolina - wonder if I should write something up...?

[mike.bmw]

BMW Classic CCA's The Ultimate Classic Magazine

Last November I wrote about taking my kids on an E30 adventure to Skyline Drive and Luray Caverns. I wrote something about our road trip (shocker) and submitted it to BMW Classic CCA's The Ultimate Classic Magazine. I received it in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I'm THRILLED to have taken the cover shot and have my article included in the latest issue.

PXL_20240202_180550492 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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[mike.bmw]

Getting Screwed

I've been trying to chase down what I thought was a vacuum leak for ages. Replacing the failed fan clutch did help with some idle wonkiness, but on/off throttle transitions were still subpar. I miseed the peppy M42 that I used to know. Where had it gone?

While rooting around the engine bay a few weeks ago, not wanting to take the intake manifold apart for the fourth time during my eight years of ownership (technically eight years as of next month), I found the throttle body stop screw was loose and the throttle butterfly arm was hitting the housing. How it managed to back itself out with a stop screw is beyond me. I've never attempted to adjust it before.

I went to work fixing this by tightening the screw until the idle started to increase, then I backed it off a bit. Now the M42 is peppy once again! I mean, WOW! It pulls through the rev range, it doesn't bog down between shifts. It feels like the engine I used to know.

Why was it running suboptimally before? I'm assuming that the throttle position sensor was giving bad readings once the arm went past where it was supposed to. This may have caused issues with the ICV as well. I'm not really sure, but I know that the car is running really well right now.

PXL_20240201_171339227 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And, of course, more photos.

20240201-DSC_7300 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20240201-DSC_7310 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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[mike.bmw]

The same result, the newspaper will still stop a brand new fan clutch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDuGsDUiXQw

Confirmed! 😂

Thankfully the old one was bad (regardless of the test) and things are back to normal with the new one installed.

[roguetoaster]

The same result, the newspaper will still stop a brand new fan clutch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDuGsDUiXQw

Yep.

[monty23psk]

I may not be following. What are you expecting to see?

The same result, the newspaper will still stop a brand new fan clutch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDuGsDUiXQw

[mike.bmw]

Do the same test on the new fan clutch under the same temperature conditions, the result may be surprising.

I may not be following. What are you expecting to see?